Way I Believe–Free Will

Growing up, in a strict Catholic family, I was always forced to believe a certain way. Throughout the years of Catholic grade school I began to feel like I didn’t fit there. I am not a person who lets others decide what I believe. There are some aspects of the Catholic religion I agree with. For instance, I do think that priest and nuns should be pure, unmarried, and celebrant. I honestly don’t know what I believe to an exact point, but I do believe that there is one God. I believe he is the creator of the world and in control of everything that goes on. I also believe in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I feel that if you live your life, to as close of a life as Jesus lead, then you will have eternal life. I’m not really sure if I believe in Heaven or Hell. I think that if you live a life of good morals, and virtue you will be granted eternal life wherever and however you want. If you lead a life full of sins, betrayals, and bad morals, you will be granted eternal life in a state of nothingness. I don’t think God is going to punish someone for not going to church every Sunday, not reading the Bible, or minute things of that nature. He has more things to worry about than that. Plus he is a fair and just God. I do not believe church is something that is for everyone. I know that the last few years that I attended church I didn’t even pay attention to anything that was being talked about. I feel guiltier for doing that then to just not go. I feel like a hypocrite more than a blessed person. I do not think that people who believe differently than I are wrong or stupid. I feel that God gave us free will to choose the way we live our lives and what we believe in. As long as we do right and try to make a sin-free life for ourselves we will be okay. I feel that there are so many different denominations and religions because not everyone is going to believe the exact same thing. The reason I think I believe as I do is for two main reasons. First and foremost is because I was forced to believe what they wanted me to, and second I had a really hard relationship. My fiancé was extremely sick and I prayed, went to church, and did everything possible with no success. He passed two years into the sickness. I’m not saying that it was a waste of time, but it for sure made me start to really question my Catholic teachings more than I already did. Once again, I believe in God, and I believe that one should live their lives according to God’s will. All the extra stuff seems irrelevant to me.

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This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.